Biographies

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, March 2018; written by Lisa Pearson.

Is it possible to tell a sad, difficult story in a way that enthralls a reader? That is certainly the case with many great works of fiction, but it can be equally true with well-written non-fiction. We have some new books on the shelf this month that tackle the tough subjects of refugees in Europe, the Holocaust, the civil war in Yemen, and post-traumatic stress in a beautiful, literary way. Before you move on, thinking “I don’t want to read about anything sad anymore”, give these 4 books a try.

“Tears of salt: a doctor’s story” by Pietro Bartolo is the memoir of a doctor working on Lampedusa, a remote island off the southern tip of Italy and the first point of contact for the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict in Africa and the Middle East. His narrative shifts back and forth between scenes from his childhood, growing up as the son of a fisherman determined that his boy would have a better life, and his current work as a doctor treating families who have survived terrorists, human smugglers, deserts, hunger and the ocean to give their children a better life. He has also helped to identify the bodies of those who did not make it. This is a terribly sad book, but he writes with such humanity and compassion that it needs to be read.

“In full flight: a story of Africa and atonement” by John Heminway is a biography of Dr. Anne Spoerry, who died in 1999. To the people of Kenya, she was a humanitarian angel who spent 50 years flying around the country providing medical care and vaccinations to remote villages. But to the inmates of Ravensbruck, a Nazi concentration camp, she was a collaborator who helped prison doctors torture and perform medical experimentation. Heminway digs into her carefully hidden past, and interviews her patients in Africa as well as her fellow inmates in Europe to reconcile their memories of this woman who seemed to be trying for so long to repair the crimes of her past.

“The monk of Mokha” by Dave Eggers is a real story of a real Yemeni-American entrepreneur, but it reads like a work of fiction. Part of this is Eggers’ narrative style (he is the author of such popular novels as “The circle”, and “A heartbreaking work of staggering genius”). But a large part of what makes this book so readable is the main character: Mokhtar Alkhanshali. He is a self-made man whose abilities to think quickly, spot opportunities, and talk confidently about anything come in handy when he becomes trapped in Yemen trying to secure a crop of coffee beans. This book is partly about the history of coffee and the different facets of Yemen, but it is also a brilliant story about the American Dream.

“Eat the apple” by Matt Young is an unconventional memoir about his experiences as a Marine doing 3 tours of duty in Iraq. He presents an extremely unglamorous, unglorified picture of his time in the Marines and the aftereffects of his service. And he does it in a series of short bursts: lists, letters between his former self and current self, sketches, vignettes from his tours and memories of how he became the person he is. Reading a 250-page book filled with self-doubt, regret and shame is not the ticket to an enjoyable afternoon, but because each chapter is so succinct and the overall flow is so inventive, you find yourself unable to put the book down.

As tempting as it might be to ignore bleak topics and unpleasant news, the power of a well-written book is such that it can comfort us with humanity at the same time that it is challenging us with tragedy. That emotional response is what makes us better writers, better readers, and better people.